The Earthquakes have had ups and downs so far this season, but one thing seems constant whether they play well or not: they can't score, or at least not enough. With 10 goals in 15 games, finishing the (many) chances they create is the main issue Frank Yallop has to deal with right now.
After 4 away games in a row and 7 games far from Buck Shaw*, the Quakes will be back in Santa Clara tomorrow where they have not played since May 22! (2-1 win against Houston Dynamo)
Before he can officially announce any new signings (not before July 15), Yallop has a few options but will probably start tomorrow with the same line-up he used last week at Chivas (0-1 loss). Ryan Cochrane has not fully recovered from his ankle injury yet. Ned Grabavoy and John Cunliffe have been relegated on the bench by Kelly Gray and the return of Kei Kamara and there is no reason to think their coach will make a change tomorrow, even though he insists on the fact that he is pleased with their performances so far and they still have a chance to start the game.
Same line-up but new speeches. San Jose has the excuse of having played much more games away than home (5 out of 15 including 2 in Oakland) and will start to catch up now with a lot of home games to play. Frank Yallop, even though he still points out the fact that they "didn't deserve to lose" last Saturday, insists on the fact that they need points now. He also knows that this will happen only if his forwards finish their chances and Kei Kamara received the message (listen below)
The task is not impossible: they already played the Rapids in April and won the match 2-0. The same kind of result is expected tomorrow!
*They played their last home game in Oakland at the Colliseum (June 14, 0-3 loss against the LA Galaxy)
Thierry Heumann (email)
After a light training session this morning, we asked a few questions to Frank Yallop and Kei Kamara:
Frank Yallop about the team:
Frank Yallop about new signings:
Kei Kamara:
San Jose Earthquakes' Probable line-up:
Kei Kamara
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Ryan Johnson
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Ivan Guerrero |
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Ronnie O'Brien |
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Kelly Gray |
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Eric Denton |
Nick Garcia |
Jason Hernandez |
James Riley |
Joe Cannon |
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